During the late eighties and early nineties The Northern Pikes and The Grapes Of Wrath, strangely enough, only played one show together. It was a festival date, and our respective show times were far enough apart that we never crossed paths that day. Many years later, in the 2000's, we would share the bill on a club show. But again, due to travel schedules, we would hardly spend any time together that night.

Fast forward to 2013: I walk into my favorite guitar shop in Toronto, Capsule Music, and there I find Kevin Kane, who is building lovely electric guitars for the store. I try a few out, buy one and Kevin and I, through our dicussions, discover that we live about 3 blocks from one another. After some hanging out and a bit of jamming, we thought we should probably try playing a gig or two and see how that goes. Fast forward again to the summer of 2014 and Kevin & Bryan show hit the road in the Okanagan Valley for a series of performances.

First up was the Bench 1775 Winery in Naramata. Crazy hot evening with forest fire smoke from nearby blazes gusting through our open air event that night. Val & Ian were so good to us - thank you. And mucho praise goes out to Paul Crawford for letting us couch surf at his place. Interesting and lovely human being - thanks again Paul.

Next we played The Minstrel Cafe in Kelowna - great fun, nice room and very warm audience. Thanks to Clare for hosting us.

Back to Naramata the next night for a 50th birthday bash for my buddy Robert Ott at the Poplar Grove Winery. K & I played a very short set that night which was highlighted by Robert joiing us on stage with Aaron Pritchett's band to sing Tom Petty's "Won't Back Down". I won't forget that moment for a long time :-) Many thanks to Rob's delight other half - she knows how to throw a party...

It had been quite a while since the Pikes had played a show - almost a year and half actually. And we couldn't have found a better way to ease back into things than this date. A beautiful night in front of an appreciative crowd made the entire evening joyful. We ran into old friends and made a few new ones.

There is something so delightful about playing with Jay and Don - can't quite put my finger on it but I assume it has alot to do with the fact that we have perfomed togther for so long that it simply feels natural, like slipping on your favorite pair of jeans. I'm blessed and thankful that after thirty years I can get together with these guys and play music that people still want to hear. Incredible...

Kevin Kane and I were contacted by Luke Jackson to perform at the 5th annual "Roncy Rocks" in the Roncesvalles area of Toronto. It's a great event that features multiple stages with numerous acts spread out through the neighbourhood. The weather was perfect and the audience appreciative. The only issue Kevin and I came up against was that we underestimated the length of our setlist. We'd come to end of the performance only to learn we still had several minutes to fill. I leaned into Kevin and whispered "what if we play "Hell's Bells" by AC/DC? I got a somewhat unsure response from him but convinced him that I thought this was a good idea. So we launched into it - and to our surprise Tyler Stewart of Barenaked Ladies jumped on stage to join us. The only problem was there were neither drumsticks or a kick drum pedal. If you check out the video from my YouTube channel you'll see Tyler waiting patiently for someone to hand him some sticks. That someone would be Cleave Anderson, the original drummer of Blue Rodeo, who was playing with the band following Kevin and I. What resulted was a delightfully fun way to end a great day of music for Kev & I - an eclectic collection of musicians playing something nobody would have predicted they'd hear that day, particulary from us.

Many thanks to Luke - such a wonderful host. I hope we get invited back again. Roncy does indeed Rock...

I've been coming to the Alberni Valley my entire life. I grew up in Victoria and my grandparents, uncle, aunt and cousins all lived in the area, many of whom are still residents.. In my mind, the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island is one of the loveliest places on earth. I feel very much at home here - I love rain and overcast days - there's something reassuring about it - makes me feel good...

I was delighted to hear back from Charlene Patterson when I reached out to Char's Landing in Port Alberni, hoping they might have me in for a show. Charlene was a wonderful host and runs a great venue in the heart of town.

For some time I had been hearing about house concerts hosted by a fellow named Andy in Victoria B.C. Musicians I know well have praised the man, the venue (his home), the vibe and enthusiasum of his patrons. And I can now attest that this is indeed a unique and highly enjoyable experience, not only from a performer's stand point, but judging from the reaction, the audience's stand point as well.

Also on the bill was J.P. Maurice, who in his quick wit compared the house concert performance experience (i.e unplugged and very intimate, maybe 125 square feet and 40-odd in attendance) akin to "stripping". And yeah, I get what he said. It's raw and unabashedly honest. But the group of people assembled there to hear our songs were dishing out a lot of love and trust, which certainly encouraged us along and made it safe for J.P. & I to unpeel our souls...

Many thanks to R. Andrew, Brian & Andrea Raine, Kimmer Eagletron Hogg Cameron and Alison Dacia Brown for getting the ball rolling. Hope to see you all again soon...

The seond in what will likely be a series of Kevin Kane / Bryan Potvin duo shows took place at a cozy little joint in St. Catherines called Mahtay Cafe. Thank you all for coming down to this gig - it was great fun - Kevin and I are truly enjoying each other's company on stage. More dates this summer including a run through BC. See www.bryanpotvin.com/tour for more info.

Recently, I was contacted by Karen Pace asking if I’d be interested in performing at an annual fundraiser for the Regent Park School Of Music, Closer To The Heart VI. Without hesitation, I agreed.

Each musical guest was to perform two Canadian cover songs. I chose Fly At Night by Chilliwack and Roxy Roller by Sweeny Todd. (Keep checking the Bryan Potvin YouTube Channel – we will be loading some juicy performance bits in the near future ☺!

I can’t say enough about how much fun this event was, how great the house band was, how smoothly everything went (Karen), how good our host Tyler Stewart of Barenaked Ladies was AND how cool it was be around such great and diverse talent. Many of these people I grew up listening to at various times of my life. I'd love to participate in this event again.

For those who have not been to the Ada Slaight Theatre (and there can’t be too many who have, as it is very new), this is an exceptional facility with great support staff. And best of all, I met a 13 year old who proudly told me she plays three instruments, LOVES music school and “whatever job I have, I want it to be in music.”

I was contacted by Lee Maslin from Aporia Records to see if I’d be interested in performing on a bill with Kevin Kane and a local singer/songwriter named Tim McIntosh in Orangeville. Seemed like it would be good fun – Kevin built a guitar I bought recently, so we’ve been hanging a bit. And he loves to gig. And so do I. So… we got together for a couple rehearsals and discovered we really enjoy playing each other’s tunes and we enjoy each other’s company.

Turns out the energy translated on stage as well. We had a lot of fun and frankly, we think we are only scratching the surface of us as a live duo.

I’ve got a lot to thank Lee Maslin for lately – this night in Orangeville will be remembered for a while. Kevin and I confirmed some suspicions that the two of us performing together will work quite well. . .